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Bracker Honored As Urban Hero

The Downtown Council of Kansas City is honoring Andy Bracker for the work he’s doing to help clean up contaminated or underutilized parts of downtown Kansas City.

Bracker, brownfield project coordinator for the City, was named an Urban Hero Award winner for 2016. He and five others will be recognized at a luncheon on Jan. 27 at the Kansas City Convention Center. The event honors those who have made exemplary efforts to advance downtown KCMO.

Kansas City is using a $2 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund loans to businesses and individuals looking to redevelop brownfield zones. The grant appropriates money to the Kansas City Brownfield Revolving Loan fund, which is administered through a partnership with the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City.

Brownfields are former industrial or commercial properties that are idle or underused due to real or perceived environmental contamination. Cleaning them up is expensive and difficult.

Bracker has worked for the City for the past 19 years, beginning in 1997 as a contract employee before becoming permanent about two years later. He said he is proud to be among the award recipients.

“The impact of the Brownfields Program in transforming blight and contamination into jobs and healthy neighborhoods is possible only because we get to work with so many other unsung heroes who have the vision and determination to help redevelop Kansas City’s distressed and legacy properties, and because of the very significant and continuing financial support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Bracker said. “I would like to give special thanks to my colleague Thomas Hobley, Brownfields Development Specialist in the Urban Redevelopment Division of the Department of City Planning and Development, for helping me realize this transformation.”

Other notable honorees are:

Deb Churchill, property manager for Kansas City’s City Market and a vice president and property manager for KC Commercial Realty Group

Matt Staub, a streetcar advocate who now sits on the board of the KC Streetcar Authority

Media inquiries should be directed to City Communications Director Chris Hernandez, 816-513-3474.